AEGiS-APPJ: AIDS and Life Insurance: A Look Behind the Testing Issue

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1987. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

AIDS and Life Insurance: A Look Behind the Testing Issue

AIDS & Public Policy Journal 2, no. 3 (Summer-Fall 1987): 26-28
David K. Nelson

Anyone reading the published articles on the AIDS and insurance issues, reviewing the laws and regulations on the subject, or attending AIDS conferences, would with some justification conclude that AIDS presents just one issue to insurers: testing applicants for exposure to the virus. While the importance of the testing issue should not be minimized, this focus on testing has meant a distinct lack of discussion of some other worthy issues. The testing issue is far from settled, and will receive future comment, but in this article I want to set forth three related issues having little to do with testing: financial solvency, adequacy of reserves, and state guaranty funds. It is not my intention to prove that AIDS threatens the solvency of the life and health insurance industry; rather, I want to briefly describe the ways in which the industry is vulnerable to solvency or profitability difficulties due to AIDS--difficulties that may well exist regardless of whether applicants for insurance are tested or not.
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